Steve Cooper's dismissal did not go down well with Nottingham Forest fans. That said, his successor has made an immediate impact at the City Ground.
Following a spirited display in his opening match in charge, only losing to Bournemouth in the 94th minute despite playing more than an hour with 10 men, Nuno Espírito Santo secured an emphatic win at Newcastle and another impressive victory over Manchester United.
Even being held 2-2 at home by Sky Bet League One side Blackpool in the FA Cup third round wasn't overly negative given that Nuno's men fought back from 2-0 down to secure a replay.
The smart game-plans used by Forest's new head coach in their two Premier League wins, using Anthony Elanga's pace to exploit Newcastle left-back Dan Burn before exposing Manchester United total lack of a central midfield by flooding that area of the pitch time and again at the City Ground, deserve praise.
But his shrewdest move of all has also been the most simple: moving their best player back to his favoured number 10 role.
And boy is it paying off.
Morgan the main man
Plenty of eyebrows were raised in the summer of 2022 when Forest spent an initial £25m on a player with limited top-flight experience who had just spent the season on loan with Championship club Sheffield United.
Since then, while Morgan Gibbs-White has shown fleeting moments of quality he really has been a victim of his own versatility, so often sacrificed to accommodate one (or several) of Forest's umpteen new signings.
Following the arrival of his former Wolves manager Nuno, the 23-year-old has started all four games as a centre attacking midfielder and has been more heavily involved than ever, providing two goals and an assist, having eight shots and creating 11 chances for his team-mates.
Not only that, Gibbs-White was handed the armband at Newcastle on Boxing Day and four days later with the cameras close was heard barking out motivation in the pre-game huddle against Manchester United.
Nuno has made him his main man, and it appears to have had an instant impact.
Defensively dogged
Although primarily an attacking midfielder, Gibbs-White's defensive work has also been excellent.
Industrious and tireless, his work ethic is epitomised by both the clip above and the stats and heat map below.
One card, seven fouls and 10 tackles in three league games also highlight potential betting avenues to explore when Forest return to action after a weekend off.
Let's hope they haven't signed five more players by then and moved him back to the right wing...
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